Connecticut’s Republican nominee for governor Tuesday would not commit to banning biologically male transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, instead choosing to tiptoe around the issue.
“Connecticut law prohibits discrimination,” Bob Stefanowski reportedly said. “It’s incumbent upon the high school athletic conferences to seek out the voices of young female athletes, coaches and parents to come up with policies that ensure a level playing field and protect girls’ sports.”
“To date, I don’t believe adequate consideration has been given to the impact this has on women’s sports across the board,” he continued. “This goes beyond fairness – it goes to safety. This needs to be evaluated and we need policies that work for everyone.”
The question was raised after a Political Action Committee (PAC) called Parents Against Stupid Stuff – a socially conservative organization that opposes transgender sports and Critical Race Theory (CRT), among other far-left initiatives – began pouring money into the gubernatorial race in support of Stefanowski’s campaign.
The PAC, which does not appear to have a website, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
However, it is reportedly run by Sean Fieler, described as a “hedge fund manager and conservative Catholic philanthropist who has kept a relatively low profile in Connecticut since moving from Princeton, N.J., to a sprawling Tudor home on four acres in Stamford in 2018.”
“Broadly speaking, these are three cultural issues where he’s at the extreme of where the Democrat Party is and just not where the electorate in Connecticut is,” Fieler reportedly told The Connecticut Mirror. “These are not controversial issues, at least not when you poll them. The residents of Connecticut, the electorate of Connecticut, oppose this kind of stuff.”
Stefanowski’s campaign did not immediately return a comment request.
The Republican businessman is battling Gov. Ned Lamont (D), who is vying for his second term in office.
Banning biological males from competing in female sports has been a winning issue for Republicans nationwide.
Gov. Bill Lee (R) of Tennessee was lauded when he signed into law a bill saying “a student’s gender for purposes of participation in a public middle school or high school interscholastic athletic activity or event must be determined by the student’s sex at the time of the student’s birth, as indicated on the student’s original birth certificate.”
On the other hand, Utah’s Gov. Spencer Cox (R) was jeered by fellow Republicans when he vetoed such a bill.
Around the country conservative parents have been making a splash at school board meetings where they have been protesting a number of issues, including transgender sports, CRT curriculum and mask mandates.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Connecticut Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Bob Stefanowski” by Bob Stefanowski.
